Great
music with a personal touch
The Passamaquoddy Bay Symphony Orchestra has just completed its
round of Fall concerts. I’m sure the players are exhausted after their weekend
circuit from Machias to Eastport to St. Andrews. Their program consisted of two
great Romantic works and a classic work by the American master Aaron
Copland.
I attended the Saturday night performance in Eastport. As much as
I like hearing orchestral music in some large symphony hall, I’ve always enjoyed
smaller venues such as the Eastport Arts Center. The clear, dry acoustics help
you hear things more clearly. Everything is right in front of you; so much is
happening for you to see, as well as to hear.
Conductor Trond Saeverud is a master at programming. Of course he
chooses the repertoire carefully for the orchestra, respecting the range of
abilities while providing growth opportunities. But he also makes each program a
satisfying musical experience for the audience. This concert, one of vivid
contrasts, was a prime example.
Opening the program was the Piano
Concerto in A minor by Robert Schumann. Piano soloist Gregory Biss did a
marvelous job of catching the shifting moods of this great work. This was
especially true in the first movement, which in typical romantic fashion veers
from dramatic declamatory statements to moments of reflection and lyricism.
Greg’s sensitive and nuanced playing came through especially in
the piano’s solo cadenza. He also understands how to play with an ensemble; he and
Trond achieved a terrific balance of piano and orchestra.
The orchestra’s playing throughout was outstanding. Especially
notable was the second movement where the piano introduces a playful, almost
childlike phrase which is answered by broad lyrical phrases introduced very effectively
by the cello section. (Don’t cellists live for such moments?)
Throughout the work the strings achieved the lush romantic sound
that I’m sure Trond was after. In the concluding movement, the bouyant and tricky
rhythms were handled well by all. and the ending was an exciting barn-burner,
with measure after measure of rapid passage work for the pianist.
Completed in 1936, Copland’s El
Salon Mexico was inspired by the composer’s visit to a popular dance hall
of the same name a few years before. It is a kind of musical collage based on
several popular Mexican folk tunes.
The rapidly shifting rhythmic patterns are a challenge for any
orchestra. Toward the end we are caught up in a frenetic whirl in which different
folk tune fragments are played in rapid succession and even simultaneously. The
orchestra did a fine job of catching the bright spirit of the dance hall.
The stars in this work were the winds and brass. The contrast with
the mellow orchestration of the Schumann work couldn’t have been greater. Of
note: a terrific trumpet solo and great work on the high E flat clarinet – not
to mention the four french horns who got turned loose. The rhythm section provided
just the right boistrous but accurate playing that held things together.
From the dance hall we were taken immediately to the open seas of
the North Atlantic, with Felix Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture. The work’s opening was one of the highlights of
the evening. What a contrast!
The strings quite effectively captured the unease of the swirling
ocean currents and dark grandeur of the scene, well supported by the winds and
brass. I particularly enjoyed the clarinets’ fine duet just before the dramatic
return of the initial theme and the quiet ending by the winds and brass.
We are indeed fortunate to have the PBSO in our midst. They prove
that “classical” music is not in the least stodgy, but exciting, colorful, and
full of contrasts. It’s a joy to experience committed and intense music-making
in such an up-close and personal way.
